...from Taste of . Lots of temptations, some of which I gave into and some of which I passed on.

I had two shrimp on a skewer, a mini crabcake, and a cup of frozen yogurt. I was kind of stuck as to what else to choose...lots of Italian food, meats in sauces, etc. Eventually I went over to the Mexican place that was doing nachos and asked them if they could just give me a plate of shredded lettuce with the shredded chicken and salsa on it. They did and it was a win, without the chips and cheese. Overall, it went pretty well and that was our big "meal" for the day, so I'm stuck with several hours and not too many calories left in my bank.

But it could have been much worse!

__________________Cassie

And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.
-John Steinbeck

Back from work and picking up a new sewing machine to replace a 1 year old lemon. Time to relax for the night. What to do? What to do? Read, quilt, watch tv? Not sure but going to relax.

Major milestone - I lost 5.6 pounds this week with perseverence and lots of tweeking to find the right combination to make it happen

Becky - Happy belated birthday!

Ama - I would have loved to spend the day outside in the garden today! Soon enough it will be warm enough here to start tackling some of the outside yard work.

April - Great weight loss this week. Draperies are hard work and camper curtains are definitely not the same thing. There are days I am physically exhausted from sewing - just lifting all that weight and lugging it around. But I love it!

Terrie - long days away are killer and I can sympathize with you. It's really hard to stay on track. One thing I have done is instead of hitting a fast food place, eating out, etc. I stop by a grocery store and pick up fruit or yogurt to eat on the go. And it saves a ton of $$ as well. When I am gone for the day I try to plan ahead and pack something along to eat / snack on.

Lizzie and Hope - You had a bump in the road. (We all have had one or more) You're past it now. Now keep going and don't look back. It happened, so be it - just keep moving forward!

Cassie - Great job with choices at the Taste of event.

Nobe - don't discredit your two days of painting. Consider it full body workouts. Yeah on all the walking and helping your dad!

Mern - I wish I had the talent to modify recipes like you. Sounds like you came up with a winner!

So - my long post that was lost I wrote about the balancing act we must do to achieve our health / food goals and life goals. It seems like we all do a great job meeting on health / food goals (minus the holiday bump) but don't show as great of a success rate with our life & other goals. I know for me I can expend a lot of energy just managing my food intake and exercise routine and that extra time eats into the time available to do the other things in my life that are just as important. It is hard to put life on hold or to the back burner while focusing on weight loss. So where is the fine line? What gets sacrificed in order to acheive our goals? I'm not so sure I know the answer but it is something I stress a bit over because some tasks don't get done that should get done. Just some food for thought....

I am exhausted! I haven't done this much physical work in ages. I've got two more days of flyers and two more days of painting next week (and probably painting for two more weeks after that). If anyone has any suggestions for dealing with walking when you already have blisters, that would be much appreciated.

Clearly next week I need to work on my bedtime. My water's been down because of work - when I was painting I just completely forgot about it, and when I was out walking I didn't want to carry it, so I drank my 16oz and never refilled it. Protein's been all over the place because I'm not really paying much attention to what I eat, but logging it after dinner. I'm too %^$# tired to do my spending log tonight - I'll catch up tomorrow. Got some good deficits despite going over in calories, so hopefully I will get rid of that pound that came back last week.

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with the thread. I'm beat. But congrats to everyone with lots of green, and to everyone who is struggling: tomorrow's a new day, and the day after tomorrow, this thread is in the past! I have the day "off" tomorrow - no paid work, but still momming. If I get a few minutes of quiet time I'll try to catch up.

nobe, good socks are really important. I hate to spend money on things like socks and underwear, but I do have a few pair of really good socks for when I know I'll be in them for a long time. I like the brand called Thorlo...I have some that are really thick and cushy and comfy. Good luck...sounds like grueling work.

__________________Cassie

And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.
-John Steinbeck

SIGH!!! I was going to post an update on my goals, but realized I'm not even sure what page they're on to quote them and update them. So I'll just say, I'm not real sure I've met any of them this week, except staying within calories a few days. It has NOT been a good week. Seems like the past month and a half has been full of not good weeks. I tend to start the week rough (Mondays are notoriously Hungry Days) and kind of keep it in check the middle part of the week. It's Thursday-Sunday that has been kicking my ass. Not to mention, life itself has sucked in a major way lately.

For those of you sending good mojo toward CN, he still needs it. We're no longer together, but that doesn't mean I don't wish him a speedy recovery. It wasn't by my doing, he broke things off with me. But I'm dealing with it alright for now. He said some really REALLY hurtful things, and I know that it's not worth me getting tore out of frame over. He said them just to make me mad, so I'd drop him altogether. And it worked. I am determined to once again be the Smiling Happy Chick that I know I really am. No one wants to be around a Miserable Depressed Chick. I am bound to have some really bad days to come, emotionally and mentally (Mike no comments on me being mental!!!). I'm just going to move on with my life. I'm going to enjoy my life, and live it to the fullest. I am frustrated with him, and hurt by the things he said, but I'm not going to crawl into a hole and wallow in self pity. He's obviously not worth the awesomeness that is me.

Wishing all a great weekend.....

__________________Tori

Mini Goal Weight-??
Ultimate Goal Weight-TBD

Current Weight-??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~When life throws you curveballs, it's up to YOU to decide whether or not you swing away or go down looking. I'm choosing to swing away.

Um, oh, and I had a few slips tonight, in the form of way too many snacks, but I'm still trying to be a weekend warrior and I'll be back on track tomorrow. I did get a lot of exercise in, though, so hopefully I didn't go too far over maintenance overall today .

1. Calories 1300 or fewer. 786, 1231 (not bad for pizza night ), 1005, 1084, 1187,2164 OUCH!
2. Exercise 8 hours. 2.5, 2,0,.5,0; got my work cut out for me this weekend!1.5
3. Drink at least 2 big sports bottles water per day. Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes,No, No, but I had quite a lot of (unsweetened) iced tea
4. Sleep at least 7 hours per night. 6,7.5, 7, 7,6,8.5
5. Follow my pie chart rules. Fair,Good (short a gram or 2 of fiber, but I'll make it up), Great, and I made up the fiber shortage, Good,Fair (little low on protein),Not so much
6. Log everything and check in daily. Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes,Logged all but didn't check in,Yes, even though it hurt
7. Take all vitamins and supplements. Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes,No,Yes

8. Repot the plant that's been on my list for the past 3 weeks! Started. Got it unpotted and assembled everything and realized the pot I wanted to use was too small. By the time I procured a new pot and got home, it was dark. Will finish Sunday.
9. Scope the new part of the trail for summer/fall goal. Done! Got it all planned out.
10. Wash car.
11. Take the boy driving twice. Once-briefly
12. Make time to scrapbook at least once.
13. Start taking notes on college applications/finances.Bookmarked a few sites, started reading; meeting today with school counselor, Picked Quinn's brain for two days, lol!Got a couple more library books today

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

__________________Cassie

And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.
-John Steinbeck

Cassie - it is gruelling, but I'm not sure why. I walk at least an hour almost every day and never get blisters or such achy muscles. It must have something to do with the fact that I'm usually pushing a stroller; maybe I'm walking faster, or just balanced differently. Thanks for the advice on the socks. Seems so obvious, but come to think of it, I was wearing really thin junky socks today.

Tori - so sorry to hear your news, but what an awesome attitude to have.

TORI- I dont know anything about your situation but i understand how much it can hurt when bad things are said for the wrong reason- even if they dont entirely mean it the mental pain it leaves can last for a long time. I have a feeling you arent the type to dwell too long so keep going and one day the other person might just realise that he let go off the wrong girl.
Please forgive me if i am on the wrong page with my comment and ive replied to something i know nothing about!

My first weekend back on weightwatchers has been better than any others. Especially my mindframe which is the most important. Without that in place i might as well pack it in. There has been 2 occasions this week when i could have scoffed my face out of stress and comfort but i resisted because i knew id feel even worse later. Very proud of myself for that.
The weekend is the toughest time for me but i made the effort to go on a walk with the kids yesterday to burn some time and calories and today we are going swimming! Its a fun pool with slides and flumes so cant say i will be doing any lengths but either way its better than being at home and mindless eating!

Food wise im putting a low fat chicken casserole in the slow cooker- boyfriend doesnt have to go near it which is easy for him lol. I can look forward to a healthy meal later when we get back.
Just going to go and pack our kits and have some strawberries and yoghurt for breakfast.